Suspicion
by ButterflyMouse
Summary: This is the beginning of chapter eleven written from Donnard's perspective. I am currently working on a second part taking place when they talk on Fomhika


**The Meeting.**

**A/N: I've always been very curious as to what Donnard thought of Glynn, his opinions seemed similar to Solen's without the complications of attraction. This is my attempt at what Donnard was thinking in chapter eleven when Glynn meets him for the first time.**

**Disclaimer: Everything you see here belongs to Isobelle Carmody.**

I stared fretfully into the fire. When would Solen return? Things were looking particularly grim. Coralyn was beginning to put her plots into action, we had to move and that was becoming harder and harder. Jurass was catching on, Solen would not be safe here much longer, he had to get away.

I wondered what had actually caused Solen's delay. I had heard the rumors, that he had rescued a woman, a myrmidon, that she lived with him still, but I could not afford to meet with one of his agents in order to get the real story. Until I had a better idea of the situation here I had to keep contact to a minimum. I would have to wait to get the story from Solen himself.

I heard footsteps on the walkway outside, alerting me to the presence of another, followed by a rustle as the flap was drawn aside._ Finally_.

"Solen, thank Lanalor...."

But it was not Solen who stood in the doorway, but a woman. Were the rumors true? This was not good.

"Who are you?"

She did not like that, lifting her head and squaring her shoulders. "I am Solen's guest. Who are you?" It sounded like a challenge, and I frowned. Her hair and build suggested that she hailed of either Fomhika or Myrmidor. If she were Fomhikan she ought to know who I was, indicating Myrmidor. Her attitude also gave the impression of a myrmidon, but her hair was unbound and I found it unlikely that Duran would allow one of her charges to cause us difficulties. If she were Myrmidori, what was she doing in Acantha? And why would she draw attention to herself by displaying such an attitude? She didn't fit. And that made me suspicious.

"Where is Solen?"

"Not so fast. You haven't told me who you are yet."

I resisted the urge to simply order her to tell me. She was dangerous. I wondered what had possessed Solen to bring her here. If she were an ally it would be dangerous and if she were a _spy, _well.

I decided to tell the truth, she had to be Fomhikan, it didn't make sense for a myrmidon to be here, and if she were Fomhikan, she would know my name. 'Ah, I am Donard Arolnhod Seminter'

She did not respond. She wasn't Fomhikan.

"Solen is expecting me. He did not tell you?"

She ignored the question and crossed to warm her hands by the fire. "You didn't leave a bunch of sether here this morning, did you?"

There was something decidedly odd about this girl. She wasn't acting like an ally, nor a spy, nor a civilian. "What is your sept?"

"I am Fomhikan" she slurred. Wrong answer. There was no possibility of it, she was lying and that meant she was hiding something. Her apparent intoxication cast further suspicion, it would be simple enough to feign – Solen did so frequently – and could simply be a ruse to lull me into a sense of security. I would not be fooled. There was still the possibility that she was an ally, but until I knew for sure, she would be treated as a spy.

"Fomhikan? And your name?"

"You can call me Glynn," Now this was ridiculous. No Fomhikan would introduce herself as such, and yet she could not be a spy, for what spy would make such a simple mistake? "As I told you, I don't know anything about a meeting," she continued "No doubt Solen forgot."

Was that what she was doing? Trying to prevent our meeting? "Solen would not forget" I had to find out more. "You have an odd way of talking – for a Fomhikan."

"I have just recovered from swallowing bittermute algae"

This just got messier and messier. If the rumors were true, if Solen _had _rescued her from the waves, then this would make sense. It would explain why she did not know me. However, it would not explain the the question she gave the information for. The algae caused an incapacity for speech, but did not impair the _way_ people spoke. She was hiding something, and it was time to find out once and for all whether she was friend or foe.

"Are you truly Fomhikan? After all, things are not always called by their true names....." She looked completely bewildered by the phrase. Very well, she was not an ally, and could not be trusted. "Where did Solen go?"

"I told you: I don't know. He left a....a chit saying he had legion business and would not be back tonight."

Song damn it! I had to pass this message on! It was possible she were lying of course, but this was the first thing she had said that made sense since we'd met, and it was perfectly plausible. What to do? If this were true, Solen might not return for quite some time, and when he did, who was to say how long it would be before one of our agents could contact him? The only sure contact I had with him was the woman before me, and she was not trustworthy. Yet she did not act like a spy. I stared at her eyes, trying to decide whether or not to trust her with my message.

"You will wait for him until he returns tomorrow?" A spy would recognize this as an opportunity for information. Yet she did not.

"No. First, I don't know when he will be back, and second, I am not waiting for him. I am only staying here while I earn coin in the minescrape for a passage home"

"The minescrape?" If she were working there, she was definitely hiding something, by I couldn't understand why she would advertise it. Very well, time to smooth things over. I would leave my message with her, but it such a form that she could not hope to understand it. I doubted she was a spy, but nor was she trustworthy. We would need to find out what she was hiding, threats could not be tolerated, but that would have to wait for another time.

"Are you hard of hearing?" she snapped

"You have chosen a difficult and a dirty way to earn coin" I hedged "Well, whatever the reason, Solen is not here. It may even be that he has not gotten my message or that he has indeed forgotten our meeting. I have not seen him for some time, you understand. I am sorry to miss him. Perhaps you will tell him something for me?"

She shrugged, "What is it?"

"Tell him that a casting performed at great risk in Iridomi waters has proven fruitful. We now know that the most dangerous silfi, long thought by some to be mere ballad fodder, are stirring at last. We will cast in Ramidan waters when Lori iceheart shows on the dawn horizon"

"You want me to tell him that" she asked incredulously

I smirked inside, she had no idea "It is a matter of mutual business interest"

The girl made no more comment, and was probably trying to look as though this made sense to her. I had made the right decision, a spy would have pulled the feint off better or simply display their confusion. Whatever she was hiding, she wasn't actively seeking information and that was what was important.

"You are tired and it is very late. I will take my leave of you. No doubt we will meet again"

"I don't think so," She objected "I will be leaving Acantha soon"

"Then our short acquaintance is my loss" I replied and bowed courteously. She didn't seem to know what to make of that, and closed the flap behind me.

Things had gone very badly tonight, but I was confident – no, hopeful – that little damage had been done. Still. The girl, Glynn, would have to be investigated.

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**So yes, this was the first fanfic I ever wrote, even though I'm just uploading it now. I hope you liked it.** **Please Reveiw.**


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